“We had this conversation. Before he went to Brazil he couldn't train for about three weeks so that means we need to try to prepare him for the rest of the season and that is quite difficult with our schedule.

“So I decided to leave him out of the squad for City so we can use these four or five days for proper training.

“He played twice, about 15-20 minutes (in each of Brazil's two games) and could have played 15-20 minutes in the City game, maybe longer, but I think it makes sense.

“He agreed completely. It was not as if he said 'No, I don't need training, I want to play'. It was a good conversation.”

Klopp believes the issue is now in the past after Liverpool held firm even when the Spanish giants upped their bid to £118m.

And he compared the situation to a marriage break-up that has been repaired.

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